Rick Stein’s Aubergine Curry with Tomatoes, Ginger and Fennel Seeds

I got this recipe from Rick Stein’s future classic cook book "Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey". This book has become my go to cook book for Indian and South East Asian recipes over the last few years ever since I bought it as a Christmas present for myself back when it was first released.

Ingredients:

600g aubergines, ideally Asian finger aubergines but used green apple aubergines they work great because there firm and hold there shape when curried

150ml vegetable oil

40g fresh root ginger, roughly chopped

40g garlic, roughly chopped

2 green cayenne chillies, finely chopped

2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp freshly ground coriander seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

400g chopped tomatoes, fresh or from a can

1 tsp honey or brown sugar (not in Rick’s version but I find it balances the dish well)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp each chopped fresh coriander and mint

Method

Top the aubergines and cut in half lengthways. If using larger Mediterranean-style aubergines, cut each one across in half and then each piece lengthways into 6–8 wedges. Toss them with ½ tsp salt and set aside in a colander for 10 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Pour the oil into a shallow dish. Brush the aubergine pieces, a few at a time, with oil, put them in the frying pan and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side until richly browned. Cooking the aubergines in this way helps prevent them from absorbing too much oil, which would make the finished dish greasy. Set aside in a bowl and repeat with the remaining aubergines.

Put the ginger, garlic and chilli into a mini food processor with 2–3 tbsp water and whizz to a smooth paste.

Put two tbsp of the remaining of the remaining oil into the frying pan and add the fennel and cumin seeds. Leave them to sizzle for a few seconds, then add the ginger and garlic paste and leave this to fry for a further 2-3 minutes.

Add the coriander and turmeric, fry for one minute and then add the tomatoes, black pepper, 3 tbsp water, 1 tsp of honey or brown sugar and ½ tbsp salt. Cover and leave to simumer for 8–10 minutes until reduced and thickened slightly.

Return the fried aubergine slices to the pan and stir well to coat in the sauce. Simmer for five minutes, then stir in the fresh coriander and mint and serve.